Superficies Sólidas a partir de Resinas Poliéster Insaturadas Modificadas con Aceite de Ricino Maleinizado

Biodegradación por el ataque de hongos filamentosos

Abstract

Due to the environmental impact caused by the growing use of polymers derived from petroleum, there is a great interest in the development of new environmental-friendly polymers, with low costs and controlled life span. The materials to be designed must present both good final properties and biodegradable characteristics. Following this idea, castor oil can be functionalized and employed as partial replacement of unsaturated polyester resins in the production of solid surfaces. The experimental work involved the synthesis and characterization of maleated castor oil, the production of industrial solid surfaces from polyester resin modified with 5% maleated castor oil, the degradation of polymers by chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis of Aspergillus niger and Alternaria sp for a period of 230 days, and the characterization of the polymers (before and after degradation) and the degradation compounds by gravimetric techniques and GC-mass, respectively.